Fontanesia phillyreoides

Fontanesia phillyreoides subsp. var.
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	Oleaceae > Fontanesia phillyreoides var. ,

Fontanesia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae, usually treated as comprising a single species Fontanesia philliraeoides, though some authors split this into two species (see below). It is native to southern Europe (Sicily), southwestern Asia (Lebanon, Syria, Turkey) and eastern Asia (China), with two well-separated populations.

It is a deciduous shrub growing to 8 m tall. The leaves are opposite, lanceolate to narrow ovate, 3–12 cm long and 8–26 mm broad, with an acute apex and a usually entire margin, sometimes finely serrated. The flowers are white, with a deeply four-lobed corolla; they are produced in panicles 2–6 cm long. The fruit is a flat samara, surrounded by a wing.

There are two subspecies, often treated in the past as separate species. Despite the distance separating the two, the differences between them are minimal; the leaves of subsp. philliraeoides are sometimes cited as having finely serrated margins, but this character is not reliable.

• Fontanesia philliraeoides subsp. philliraeoides. Southern Europe, southwest Asia. Leaves up to 8 cm long, dull green above.
• Fontanesia philliraeoides subsp. fortunei (Carr.) Yalt. (syn. F. fortunei Carr.; F. phillyreoides var. sinensis Debeaux). China (Anhui, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Shandong, Zhejiang). Leaves up to 12 cm long, glossy green above.

The species name is often erroneously cited as "phillyreoides".

Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Fontanesia (after Rene Louiche Desfontaines, prominent French botanist, 1752-1833, director of the botanical garden at Paris). Oleaceae. Shrubs grown for their handsome foliage. Deciduous, glabrous: branches quadrangular: lvs. opposite, short-petioled entire: fls. perfect, small, in axillary clusters forming terminal leafy panicles; calyx minute, 4-parted; petals 4, narrow, small; stamens 2, exceeding the petals; ovary superior, usually 2-celled; stigma 2-lobed: fr. a flat, winged nutlet.—Two species in W. Asia and China. These are slender-branched shrubs with rather narrow leaves and small whitish flowers in short terminal panicles. They retain the foliage unchanged until late in fall, and are well adapted for shrubberies, growing in any good garden soil. F. fortunei is hardy as far north as Massachusetts, F. phillyraeoides only half- hardy. Propagation is readily effected by greenwood cuttings under glass in early summer; also by layers and by seed. CH The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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External links

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